Riccardo Calafiori appeared to have equalised early in the first half of a thrilling Premier League London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, only to end up frustrated when VAR intervened to disallow the goal.
It had taken less than two minutes for Chelsea to grab a surprise lead at the Emirates Stadium, with Morgan Rogers producing a sublime finish to stun the reigning champions.
Arsenal failed to adequately clear a launched free kick from Reece James, which eventually fell at the feet of Rogers on the edge of the area. The £117m man caught the ball on the volley and although it wasn’t necessarily a truly clean connection, it thudded beyond David Raya into the bottom corner.
In a breathless, end-to-end contest, the Gunners then appeared to draw level on 12 minutes when Calafiori bundled in from close range.
Joao Pedro failed to clear Declan Rice’s initial free kick and Arsenal bodies duly piled into the six-yard box. Ezri Konsa poked against the post and Chelsea goalkeeper Emi Martinez came out out to smother another attempt before Calafiori finally forced the ball across the line.
However, VAR intervened soon after, determining that Konsa had been offside when Calafiori sent his shot towards goal and that, in fact, the ball may have even taken a deflection off the former Aston Villa defender on the way into the net.
It left the Emirates Stadium in disbelief, although replays suggested the decision was correct.
However, Gunners supporters were soon celebrating again, with Kai Havertz equalising in the 25th minute and, this time, the goal stood.
Havertz was just about onside as he picked the ball up in the right channel, weaved along the edge of the box and fired a left-footed effort goalwards, where it blasted through the fingertips of Martinez to level proceedings against the German striker’s former club.
